There can never be true difficulty with a Quick Save feature. The only thing I wish is that levels came more infrequently. I should struggle to hit the level cap, not easily hit it with 50 hours of gameplay left.
I have 5 completed characters and i am going through now with number 6 and at this point not hitting the Strip nor have i done Dead Money yet, and i managed to hit level 30. I also have been through EVERY location on the map except those areas that are quest driven like the fort. There is not a vault, a cave, or legion hiding rock i have not turned over so hitting 30 was easy. I am still a bit irritated that some quests like "we all leave together, i did get pvt jones tag) somehow i can not finish, missing ONE dogtag, the quest map says it should be right here but there is nothing there. Other than that this play is going to be probably the most complete of all my plays siding with the NCR. I do have to go into vault 3 yet and kill motorunner and rescue the ranger there, ( i did not kill him as i wanted to boost my faction with the Khans so i made a delivery but i want them to side with me as i side with the NCR).
There is something to the quicksave and reload feature that can be game breaking but only if
YOU choose to do so that is no one's fault or choice but yours to make and i like that the option is there whether i use it or not. I also play on PC so on a few other plays just to see the "whats what" concerning that terminal, box, door, i have console commanded them open. Regardless of what another thinks i did what i did and since it was my choice and effects no one else there should be no DRAMA concerning a viable legitimate choice that the player CHOOSES to excercise.
Concerning the time frame of 50 hours i have close to that myself and this character has not been subjected to the credit check to enter the Strip, (not that at level 30 the 2000 caps is hard to come by) i just have been plodding around the Mohave smelling the flowers, picking the ocasional one that takes my fancy, shooting legion on sight (most fun EVER), making steaks and cooking geckos, helping litle old ladies across the street, resolving any NCR crisis in diplomatic fashion using bullets or [censored], and in genreal having a ball NOT being in a hurry. I only realized i was at 30 when i hit it this morning before i quit, it did come as a suprise as i was having such a good time playing my way that everything else including levels escaped notice, that is a good thing.
How long or little it takes for a player to finish is completely up to the player. If you choose to skip half the stuff i chose to do then you milage will vary. I have had plays where i ended the game at 16, as it was my legion supporter character and i hated her and the play with a passion i just wanted it to end. I did the best for the legion i could stomache, tried to minimze the emotional wreckage a group like the legion will leave behind, but in the end i just decided to blow through it and get it over with. If i chose to i could have dragged that nightmare out longer but the key in all of this is "i chose" which did not interfere with what "you chose" and yet we both seemed to enjoy the experiences for similar and differetn reasons, that is what makes FO3 and FONV special in a cookie cutter halo clone world.
Asai